THOUGHTS ABOUT LEADERSHIP

     Just read an interesting article about leadership and the pitfalls within awaiting the leader and the care he/she must take, the precautions to insure that the leader comes out as a good person rather than as a warped and twisted being.
     The leader must always remember that he/she is there to serve the people. FDR said, "I never forget that I live in a house owned by all the American people and that I have been given their trust." A true leader is there to serve the people, not be served by them.  The leader is there to benefit the people who are his/her constituents rather than to benefit him/herself. Yet even FDR forgot that when he thought that only he could lead the country to victory, even as sick as he was, as exhausted as he was. He was sick when he went to Yalta and gave away the store. A true leader has to know when his/her time is over, when he/she would only harm those whom he/she serves.
     We need good leaders. We need leaders who have vision, who have a plan to follow which has a wide expanse of interests rather than a plan focused only on those issues that interest him/her. He/She must be strong, yet aware of and open to other people's interests ,ready to concede that they too have a good idea, a better way, or be able to convince others by logic and calm words that the other way is the right way.
     A good leader must be a good manager, for otherwise the budget, the needs, the daily minutiae and the future directives just get away and out of control. President Obama finds himself in this position because he was not strong enough to focus properly and has let events overcome his plans. Granted, I would never wish to be President of the United States, but if one takes on a job, one needs to be prepared for change, for demand, for surprises and be able to adapt, even if Congress is not the most friendly of places. Power changes people, and usually not for the good. The good person who entered the job almost always loses his/her way when the ego takes over and puts blinders on the leader, especially when the leader overstays in position. At all times the leader must remember that he/she is there to serve, to chill out on his/her ego, to be without sin. Proverbs 27:24 states that "power is not forever". Power is temporary and the leader must know when the time to go has come. We have all seen heads of schools, managers of companies, bosses who all have passed their time, yet cannot realize or accept that the time to pass on the leadership position haslong ago come.
     Please read this and think about it, what it clearly says. I found it thought provoking and extremely timely.